Noise level: Moderate: Despite the hard surfaces, it's surprisingly quiet inside, and it might even be possible that the most persistent sound is that of folks happily lapping up their gelato.

You can take the time to read this review in its entirety, or I can simply distill this piece down to its essence:

There's a new frozen dessert spot on the Pearl Street Mall called Fior di Latte featuring gelato and sorbet. To paraphrase "30 Rock" character Liz Lemon, "You want to go to there."

For those seeking more information before hightailing it downtown, Fior di Latte means "flower of milk." In Italy, this term sometimes refers to cow's milk mozzarella. In this instance, it's the brand name for a line of made-in-Boulder gelato and dairy-free sorbet.

Until recently, Fior di Latte's desserts have been available only in a handful of grocery stores, farmers' markets and restaurants. Now, their new retail spot boasts several rotating flavors, and the shop dishes out scoops made the same day they're served.

This storefront is a small but sleek spot, echoing stylish European influences, and it's clear this isn't an old-fashioned ice cream parlor with a barbershop-quartet vibe. Nevertheless, the staff is welcoming, knowledgeable and, best of all, enthusiastically encourages customers to sample flavors. Fortunately, you don't have to invest too heavily in committing to a flavor, as a single scoop cup goes for $3.25, and you can combine two varieties in this serving.

There's also a small selection of traditional European-style pastries on offer. A $3.75 cannolo (cannoli is plural) arrives filled to order, perhaps as a safeguard against sogginess and flavor loss. My main problem with cannoli is that many possess an impenetrable shell that could easily armor a battleship. Happily, that's not the case here, as the low-key sweetness of this pastry melds with a pleasantly crumbly texture that's mandible-friendly. Soft cheese-based filling, also restrained when it came to the sugar, counts on lemon to successfully lend vibrancy.

On a follow-up visit, I sampled a $2.95 mini-cream puff duo. These pastries possessed the airy texture synonymous with classic European baking technique. One puff was loaded with a decadent vanilla custard, essentially eclair filling. Another spotlighted a formidable chocolate ganache, dense and intense, which could easily hold its own against any restaurant's desserts.

Some might take the "latte" in the shop's name to indicate that coffee drinks are on tap, and they'd be right. A $2.75 espresso arrived accompanied by a shot of sparkling San Pellegrino water, an elegant Continental touch. The espresso was smooth and robust and passed the aficionado's test of retaining a foamy crema to the last drop, making for as satisfying a shot as you'll find locally.

But pastry and coffee are merely the undercards to the main events of gelato and sorbet, and even those with dietary constraints can get in on the action. One may upgrade to a gluten-free cone for 95 cents, and there's typically at least one flavor swapping out coconut milk for dairy, as well as fruit sorbets.

Combining coffee with gelato is another option, courtesy of the $5.25 affogato. Mixing a scoop with an espresso shot, this preparation creates a pleasing contrast between steaming coffee and frosty gelato or sorbet. One friend paired her coffee with the dairy-free coconut milk chocolate flavor, evoking a winning mash-up of mocha and the old-school Mounds candy bar.

Another friend lauded the tropical and herbal qualities of the pineapple-ginger sorbet, which emulated the bright flavor contrasts of a complex craft cocktail. Similarly compelling choices include a refreshing lemon-basil and a intriguing grapefruit-tarragon combo that highlighted that herb's licorice-like qualities.

Horchata gelato was richer than its Mexican rice drink inspiration, and the milky qualities of this confection were closer to pure cream than grain. Coffee didn't possess the knockout potency of the shop's espresso, being milder in flavor and more closely resembling a latte. Similar understated qualities marked both the lemon cookie and black cherry varieties, which presented their namesake ingredients against a backdrop of a sweet cream base.

The sublime pistachio gelato, our hands-down top choice, beat out an earlier favorite, the summery cantaloupe and cucumber blend. Like the other flavors, this featured a denser texture than regular ice cream. What distinguished it from less-vibrant selections, like the lemon cookie, was how the earthy nut taste so thoroughly permeated the gelato. As one friend noted, it tasted "fresher than a real pistachio." Perhaps this strength of flavor calls out the keys to Fior's success: Impeccable freshness, ingredients and preparation make for icy treats without parallel.

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